Weekend Roundup

Must-read: Governing magazine on how Mississippi, home to one of America’s most notorious prisons, became a model for prison reform in recent years. Among other reforms, Mississippi has slashed the number of prisoners kept in harsh supermax conditions at Parchman Farm by 85%.

Must-read #2: Solitary Watch on how hundreds of California inmates get shunted into solitary confinement through the process of “gang validation.”